Zawaya

Political, doctrinal and social motives of the hijab

By: Said Elakhal

The phenomenon of wearing the hijab has been spreading in the Maghreb societies among women, young girls, and even 7-year-old girls. The hijab, as a dress code that covers the curves of a woman’s body, does not convey the same meanings nor does it reflect the same motives. We can distinguish between two types of hijab: a traditional genuine hijab, and a modern alien hijab.

A- The emergence of the traditional genuine hijab was associated with the society’s traditions and values, regardless of religion and doctrine. Maghreb communities have different kinds of hijab, reflecting their cultural diversity and richness. Each region within the same community has its own dress. We find in Morocco, for example, al-hayek, jelbab, izar, abaya, etc., and they are all dresses that cover women’s bodies according to the traditions of each region. In the eastern region, women cover their entire bodies except for a narrow space from which they sneak peeks with one eye, whereas women in the northern region wear jelbabs and put on a niqab to cover their entire faces except for the eyes.

The concept of the “Islamic dress” was not popular within society. This kind of hijab was determined by social norms, in order to distinguish between unmarried and married women. Women could not divert from the conventional dress code in each region to wear modern clothes, for example, even if they covered their entire bodies.

B- The modern hijab is an innovation for society, because it does not reflect local cultures and customs. The emergence of this kind of hijab was associated with political Islam organizations that promoted the ideas and dresses of their counterparts in the Arab Mashreq. Each religious organization or current started to have its own distinctive dress, to set itself apart from the members of other religious movements, as well as from the rest of society.

The political and doctrinal motives behind this kind of hijab are obvious, even if they got mixed up with religion, and this alien outfit was introduced as the “Islamic dress” for women. However, if we compare the dress that political Islam organizations consider as the “Islamic dress”, with that of the organizations of the Salafi and Jihadist currents, we’ll find a huge difference.

The Salafi trend does not consider the hijab of the Islamists to be lawful, and finds it rather contrary to religion. The Salafi hijab reflects the culture and customs of a closed and conservative social environment (the Saudi environment of Najd), and has nothing to do with the teachings of Islam.

As for the hijab of the Islamists, it does not reflect the cultural identity of the Maghreb societies. Therefore, distinction can be made between three categories of veiled women:

1- A category that considers the hijab to be primarily an expression of their partisan or doctrinal identity. This class has its own characteristics within the original community. The hijab of women adhering to the Salafi trend or the Shiite sect in Morocco, for example, is distinctive, and has certain colors, shapes and styles. The hijab became, thus, an indicator of adherence to an identity that is different from the community’s identity.

2- A category of women regarding the hijab as a new trend, so they combine covering their hair with revealing the beauty of their bodies through the excessive use of makeup, wearing jeans, picking the finest garments, and matching the colors and models of shirts. This category is not interested in proving a political or sectarian identity, as much as it cares about keeping up with fashion.

3- A category that sees in the hijab a religious duty, and strives to hold on to wearing it. However, these women chose the innovative hijab to express their religious commitment, as if the traditional one does not do the job. They want to have a modern look, instead of a traditional one, while still expressing their religious commitment. To sum up, the concept of hijab has multiple motives, meanings and styles.